Skin retractor



Mmhls, 1955 P. BECKER 2,704,071

SKIN RETRAcToR Filed Nov, 25, 1955 PA U1. B5 cK ER IN1/Emol@ ATTRNEY United States Patent O SKIN RETRACTOR Paul Becker, Springfield, lll.

Application November 23, 1953, Serial No. 393,571

1 Claim. (Cl. 128-215) The present invention relates to a skin retractor for use in subcutaneously administering prophylactic and therapeutic medicinal preparations by syringe injection.

Heretofore the injection of such preparations has been limited largely to body locations such as would enable the patient to use one hand to retract the skin and the other hand to operate the syringe. This meant that injections were limited to the thighs, legs or torso of the patient, or else it was necessary to employ the aid of axlther person, which was not always convenient or poss1 e.

My improved skin retractor is particularly adapted for use by the patient himself--under his doctors directions, of course-where it is desired to inject medicinal preparations such for example, as adrenalin, insulin, or, formula B12 for the treatment of pernicious anemia, subcutaneously, that is, under the skin only, and not intravenously.

It is here noted that in making injections of this character, it is advantageous and more often essential that the skin be retracted to a reasonable extent in order to avoid intranvenous and intramuscular injection.

In this adaptation my improved skin retractor enables the patient to use the device himself for arm injection without the aid of a second person.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a skin retractor of the type herein described, wherein both the convenience and ellicacy of the injection are facilitated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a skin retractor readily applicable for the purpose intended, and produced of materials subject to instant sterilization without disassembly, and without damage from deterioration resulting from the sterilization.

A further object is to produce an elcient device, not only simple in construction and arrangement of parts, but also a unitary assembly complete in itself, and adjustable as may be required in use.

It is to be understood that the structure, arrangement, and proportion illustrated in the drawings showing the present invention are illustrative only, and not in any sense intended as a limitation thereof.

Other objects and advantages to be attained will appear in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an actual size elevational view showing the improved skin retractor with its skin gripping element closed, and with its loop portion adjusted to form a relatively small loop.

Figure 2 is an elevational view taken transversely of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the skin gripping element partly open.

Figure 4 is a general perspective view showing an application of the invention in actual use, as retracting the skin on the arm of the user, and a syringe in position to administer a subcutaneous injection.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the improved skin retractor comprises a skin gripping element whose upper end is formed in the loop l1 having a pair of oppositely disposed and downwardly depending spring members 12 integral therewith and bent to extend in- 2,704,071 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 ICE wardly at a downwardly inclined angle, crossing each other intermediate the ends of said portion 10 as at X and extending downwardly therefrom in relatively close parallelly disposed leg members 13 which in turn cross each other as at Z transversely of the crossed position of the spring members 12 at X, and terminating in the substantially U-shaped skin gripping members 14 provided with suitable plastic covering 15. Engaging the loop 11 is the cotter pin-like member 16 whose ends 17 interiorly and xedly engage one end of the adjustable elastic tension member 18 which is arranged at its upper end to form the adjustable loop 19 having the slidably adjustable sleeve member 20.

The device as shown, for example, in Figure l, including the looped upper end, is regularly furnished in a length of 12 inches overall, and is adjustable to longer or shorter lengths as desired for use.

The tension member 18 and the adjusting sleeve member 20 are preferably made of elastic latex plastic, and while the sleeve 20 snugly fits around the two strands of the member 18 and maintains a fixed position thereon in normal use, still, on immersion in hot water the sleeve 18 becomes yieldable and can be freely slidably moved to any desired position along the tension member 18 for use. Then, upon cooling after removal of the device from the hot water, the sleeve 20 again adheres to the member 18, thus providing against slippage and maladjustment during the act of injection. By like means the plastic covering l5 is placed and retained upon the gripping members 14. lt is obvious, then, that when the improved skin retractor is once adjusted to the requirements of the user, it will so remain until altered as may be desired.

An example of the practical adaptation of the improved skin retractor follows:

To use a syuringe for subcutaneous medicinal injection as herein before described, the skin gripping element 10 is grasped in the hand of the user and squeezed slightly to move the spring members 12 toward each other, subsequently separating the skin gripping members 14 as indicated in Figure 3. While so held, the gripping element 10 is placed in suitable contact with the skin on the arm, for example, of the user, and said element 10 then released, which enables the members 14 to grip the skin. Then the loop 19 is placed over the thumb of the user to bring the device into operating position as shown in Figure 4, and it is obvious that as he flexes or straightens his wrist, he accordingly loosens or tightens the tension on the elastic tension member 18 to retract the skin to meet the requirements of the injection being made.

Having set forth my invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, what I claim and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent, is:

A skin retractor comprising a spring loop carrying spring members arranged in crossed relation to each other, leg members depending from said spring members and arranged in crossed relation to each other transversely of said spring members, substantially U-shaped skin gripping members depending from said leg members and adapted for laterally matched contact with each other, a ilexible elastic tension element connected to said spring loop, an adjustable loop formed from the free end of said exible elastic tension element, an adjustable sleeve member carried by said tension element to adjust and x the size of said adjustable loop of said flexible tension element.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 674,847 Lundburg May 21, 1901 2,572,889 Strykower Oct. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,221 Great Britain 1905 

